Thoughts on God, Love, and Jane Austen

Recently my friend and I debated the existence of God. During this debate I tried to come up with probable reasons as to why God existed, each of which my friend was deftly able to shoot down. When we finished, it was obvious my friend had the stronger arguments. But instead of making me question my Creator's existence, it prompted the following thoughts.
My friend's main argument was that it is not logical to believe in God. So why do I believe in him anyway?
I've realized that even if believing in God does not seem logical or rational, it still makes perfect sense in my life to believe in Him. Why is this?
I started to think about the sense in believing in something others would say is illogical. Why historically and in the present do so many human beings believe in God even though it appears to some not be logical? Should we as human beings always try to do what is rational? Will this give us the greatest amount of happiness?
I started thinking about love. In many ways love is the most illogical thing in this world. There is nothing rational about putting your heart out into the open so it is perfectly available to be hurt, trampled on, and pained. It doesn't make any sense to take such a risk. Being in love opens you up to all sorts of problems and disappointments. And yet human beings quite regularly submit themselves to love. Surely this defies all reason?
Why do people fall in love? Before I met the man I married, I myself was involved in two emotionally taxing relationships that caused me a lot of heartache and fear. Given the chance, would I take both of them back?
Definitely not. Why? It is certainly not logical for me to submit myself to pain. So what reason could I have for not wanting to erase these incidents? I believe it's because although the pain the relationships caused me was admittedly undesirable, the happiness that I experienced from being in love was far greater than any amount of hurt it caused.
I find a good way to explain this contradiction is by looking at Jane Auste's "Sense and Sensibility." Recently I read an article that explained how the two sisters in this book, Elinor and Marianne, represent two schools of thought common at that time. Elinor represents "sense" or in other words the type of reason exemplified by the Age of Enlightenment Ideals. Marianne on the other hand represents "sensibility" or the philosophy of action according to feeling as espoused by the Romantic period. Whenever I read this book, I encounter the same feelings about the sisters. Though I admire and respect Elinor greatly for her common sense and her logical mind, my heart relates better to Marianne every time. Why? Elinor is clearly more sensible and reasonable, while Marianne is often perceived as foolhardy and rash. But this does not change the fact that I always love Marianne better.
Does this make sense? Marianne after all has her heart ripped out due to her sensibility-led life, which leads her to fall for a man who turns out to be a rogue and a cad. But every time I read the book it seems to me that the joy she derives from the choices she makes are greater than the happiness that Elinor experiences. It may not be logical for Marianne to do what she does, given the amount of pain it causes her, but she truly seems to have the stronger amount of felicity in her life.
This, I think, illustrates why it makes sense for me to believe in God. It certainly does not always seem rational to do so, especially in a day and age where more and more Christians are harassed for believing in something with such an emotional connection, and for holding onto old morals so typically laughed at and derided for their close-mindedness. Does it therefore make sense to continue to believe in something that so many atheists and agnostics are able to point out the illogicality of? My answer is simple, though it may not work for everyone. For me, the decision to believe in God has made me a better person, given me a peace of mind from knowing I can obtain Salvation, and gifted my life with the greatest fulfillment I could wish for.
Is it logical to believe in God? Maybe not. But one must keep in mind that logic is a man-made system and, like man, is fallible. This is not to say that reason and logic do not have their place. Indeed, they are quite necessary for making many of the good decisions in our lives. I've also found that some arguements my friend deemed "illogical" still seem perfectly logical to me. Logic is often subjective in mankind's case. Therefore man certainly could not lead his life sucessfuly relying on logic alone. Without the illogical, the "sensibility" in life, we would not have things like the amazing music and beautiful works of art of the Romantic Period. And I'm sure anyone who's ever been in love will back me up in saying that sometimes it's okay to do something illogical. If we never give way to feeling, we can deny ourselves some of the greatest opportunities for joy. Believing in God may not seem rational, but for me it makes perfect sense.